Undergarments

ABSTRACT

A garment formed at least in part of elastic material has an opening provided in the crotch thereof. A cover element in the form of a panty also formed at least in part of elastic material is worn over the main garment to cover the crotch opening and to restore body controlling compression lost in the main garment due to the provision of the crotch opening. The cover element may be attached to the main garment. The invention is applicable to a wide variety of body garments.

United States Patent 1 1 Herbener [111 3,777,764 1 Dec. 11, 1973 1 1UNDERGARMENTS [22] Filed: Aug. 30, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 284,719

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 19,204, March13, 1970,

Pat. No. 3,712,308.

[52] 11.5. C1 128/519, 2/224 R, 2/67 [51] Int. Cl. A4lc 1/00 [58] Fieldof Search 2/224 A, 224 R, 78 R, 2/78 A, 226, 67; 128/518, 519, 528, 529,530

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,466,667 9/1969 Rosney2/240 522,366 7/1894 Golding... 128/528 2,045,401 6/1936 Mowry 128/431746,060 12/1903 Frisbie 2/78 B 2,960,987 11/1960 Rockwell 128/542 X2,493,357 l/l950 Miller 2/238 X 3,023,419 3/1962 Strahle 2/67 X2,477,353 7/1949 Strait 128/529 3,040,751 6/1962 Mastenbrock 128/5293,449,932 6/1969 Fillmore et a1. 2/224 X 3,498,298 3/1970 Herbeyer128/533 OTHER PUBLICATIONS A page from Sears Catalog, Fall-Winter 1969,Cat. 239E,

Primary ExaminerGeorge V. Larkin Att0rneyB. P. Fishburne, Jr.

[57] ABSTRACT A garment formed at least in part of elastic materialments.

3 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED DEC H I975 SHEET 10F 3 FIG. 2

PATENTEDUEC 1 1 I975 SHEET 3 BF 3 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With theincreasing popularity of elastic body and undergarments next-to-the-skinas embodied in panty hose, body stockings, corselettes and the like, an7 obvious persistent inconvenience for the wearer is present because ofthe necessity for substantially removing the garment in comfortstations. Any garment of this character which has a closed crotch ishighly inconvenient to the female wearer of the garment and this hasbeen a major drawback to the complete acceptance of these elastic bodygarments by girls and women of all ages. There is a .degree ofinconvenience and some times embarrassment in their use which manyindividuals are unwilling to accept. In all other respects, the elasticgarments of the class mentioned have such great advantages in comfort,warmth, freedom of movement and control of the body-contours that theyare highly desirable and are every day coming into more wide usage asthe basic foundation garment or underwear for females.

The prior art contains a number of teachings of garments havingremovable crotch sections or crotch flaps which may be opened and closedand some of these teachings are quite old in the art. None has proven tobe reliable and acceptable 'to the wearers of the garments and, ingeneral, this approach to solving the problem is a failure Consequently,it is the objective of this invention to completely and effectivelysolve the above problem incident to the elastic body garments of theclasses enumerated above. The problem is solved in sucha manner that allof the good features of these stretch garments are preserved while thesingle feature of inconvenience is eliminated in a manner which will beacceptable to the wearer and which will allow the wearer to have fullconfidence in the practicality of the garment.

More specifically, in accordance with the invention, the problem ofcompletely removing the elastic bodyor foundation garment in a comfortstation is eliminated and the garment may remain completely in place onthe body with only the necessity for removing a small crotch coveringgarment portion in the nature of a brief panty element which may beattached permanently to the body garment or formed as a separateelement, if preferred.

Aside from the convenience feature, the invention maintains the fullability of the composite garment to properly compression the body andcontrol the body contours. The slight loss of compression caused byremoval of the crotch portion of the foundation garment is restored bythe effect of the elastic crotch covering separate or attached briefpanty element.

The crotch opening provided .in the body garment may actually be arelatively smallopening but one which stretches and expands to a largeopening when the wearer assumes a sitting position, and this too is amajor feature of the invention and a feature which is the key to itspracticality. When the wearer is in a position other than sitting, thecrotch opening diminishes in size and-a degree of tension or control onthis region of the body is restored.

In view of the foregoing explanation, it is believed that the mainfeatures and advantages'of the garment will be apparent to those skilledin the art, and various additional features will appear during thecourse of th following detailed description. l

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. l is an exploded perspectiveview of a body stocking embodying the invention and a separately formedpanty element forming a part thereof.

FIG. 1A is a partly diagrammatic perspective view illustrating theenlargement of the crotch opening in a sitting position.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a body stocking and permanentlyconnected panty element in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2A is a view similar to FIG. 1A showing the elements when thewearer is in a sitting position.

FIG. 3 is a composite perspective view showing a body stocking withcrotch opening and an associated panty hose garment with full crotch tobe worn in conjunction with the body stocking.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3gshowing a body stockinghaving a crotch opening and apanty girdle to be worn exteriorly thereof.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a. full length stretch body garmentincluding integral stocking portions and an associated briefpanty'element to cover the crotch opening of the full length garment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of elastic panty hose and a brief coveringpanty element showing a further embodiment of the invention.

' FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a girdle and coacting panty briefs.

FIG. 8 is a similar view of a corselette and coacting panty element. I v

FIG.- -9 is a similar view of another form of corselette and coactingpanty element embodying the invention.

7 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to thedrawings in detail wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts, and makingreference first to FIGS. 1 and 1A, there'is shown a body stocking 20which is a relatively thin garment formed of material which will stretchin all directions, and consequently has the ability to tension the bodyin all directions. Cu stomarily, these stretch garments are made in onesize which will fit substantially all wearers. The body stocking 20applies tension to the body circumferentially and also in theup-and-down direction. Shoulder straps 21 serve to enhance support inthe, upward direction and the leg portions of the garment serve inopposition to the shoulder straps to pull the garment downwardly.

- In contrast to a conventional body stocking having a full crotch, thebody stocking 20 has a substantial portion of the crotch removed so asto form a crotch opening or slot 22 which is elongated front-to-rear andmay have its ends tapered as shown. The marginal edges of theslot 22 maybe reinforced with stitching in any suitable rnanner but the slot oropening, like the remainder of the body stocking, must have the abilityto stretch in all directions. The opening 22 may be a relatively smallopening in the relaxed garment 20, but when the wearer assumes a sittingposition, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, the crotch opening 22 stretches andbecomes considerably enlarged, and this ability of the garment is whatrenders the same so useful and practical and eliminates the necessityfor lowering or removing the entire garment in a comfort station.

Worn in conjunction with the body stocking and forming an importantcomponent of the invention is an exterior panty element 23 having a fullcrotch 24 and preferably formed of the same muIti-direction stretch knitmaterial utilized for the body stocking. The panty element 23 may be abrief element of any desired shape or style including the Bikini shape,if preferred. When applied over the body stocking 20, the panty elementnot only covers the crotch opening 22 but serves the additionalimportant purpose of restoring the compression to that region of thebody where some compression is lost due to the provision of the opening22. Additionally, the panty element supplements the action of the pantyhose by applying added tension around the hips so as to provide a degreeof girdle action. In FIG. 1, the panty element 23 is formed separatelyfrom the body stocking 20 with no permanent attachment thereto.

FIGS. 2 and 2A show a slightly different embodiment of the inventionfrom FIGS. 1 and 1A, the chief difference being that the crotch coveringpanty element 23' is permanently attached to the body stocking 20 by ashort line of stitching 25 at the front of the waist. Other attachingmeans may be employed including separable fasteners. A virtue of havingthe two garment elements attached is that they will not become separatedor lost during laundering or during periodsof non-use. Except for theattachment feature, the construction of the garment and its utility issubstantially as described in FIGS. 1 and 1A. FIG. 2A illustrates asitting attitude where the opening 22 is enlarged andthe panty element23' is idle at the front of the garment, having been pulled down at therear when the sitting position was assumed by the wearer. The legs ofthe userremain in the panty element 23 while in the sitting position,and it is a simple matter'to return the panty element to the regular useposition upon standing by simply pulling the same up at the rear.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the invention where the same bodystocking 20, previously described, with stretchable crotch opening 22 isemployed in conjunction with conventional stretch panty hose 26 whichhave a full crotch. Similarly to the panty element 23, the panty hose 26is worn over the body stocking 20 for covering the opening 22 andrestoring tension to the garment which would otherwise be lost.

by the presence of the crotch opening. The same convenience feature ispreserved, whereby only the upper portion of the panty hose need bepulled down below the hips and over the thighs when the wearer of thecomposite garment is in a sitting position. With the arrangement in FIG.3, the two components form a full length elastic body garment whichcovers the body from the shoulders to the toes and exerts maximumcompression around the hips where such compression is most needed.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment utilizing the same elastic bodystocking 20 having crotch opening 22 and a coacting panty girdle 27which may be formed of heavier stretch material so as to be able toexert more control on the body particularly in the region of the hips.The same essential features of the invention already described arepreserved with the embodiment of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 illustrates a full length one-piecestretch material body garment28 having integral legs and feet and, if desired, a double thicknessregion 29 around the hips for'added control. This garment exerts tensionin all directions and this feature is conventional in the knit materialemployed. The one-piece garment 28 is provided with a stretchable crotchopening 30 or slot substantially identical to the opening 22 and for thesame purpose described.

In conjunction with the body garment 28, there is provided a brief pantyelement 31 of similar stretch material having a closed crotch 32 capableof covering the opening 30 when in the elevated use position indicatedby the broken lines 33 in FIG. 5. Again, the element 31 serves the dualpurpose of covering the crotch opening and restoring tension which wouldotherwise be sacrificed by the formation of the opening.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment where the basic garment 34 is in theform of stretch panty hose provided with a stretchable crotch opening 35for the described purpose. A coacting Bikini-type panty 36 is shown andthis serves the same purpose as the panty el ements already described inprevious embodiments.

FIG. 7 of the drawings shows the invention applied to an elastic pantygirdle 37 which may be formed of lightweight, medium or even heavystretch material dependent upon the needs of the wearer. Two way stretchmaterial is contemplated for this type of garment, as shown by thearrows in FIG. 7. The girdle 37 is equipped with a crotch opening 38, aspreviously described, and a brief stretch panty 39 is adapted to be wornover the girdle 37 to cover'the crotch opening 38 and restore any losttension.

In this type of foundation garment, it is desirable to incorporate inthe abdominal region a suitable pocket or compartment means 40 receivinga movable stay unit 41 of the type fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,498,298, issued Mar. 3, 1970, to Henry M. Herbener. The purpose ofthis movable stay unit is to hold up the top edge of the girdle at thefront and to flatten the abdomen while permitting ease of bending thebody at the waist, as described in said patent.

FIG. 8 shows another modification of the invention applied to acorselette 42 formed of stretch material of any desired weight. In thiscase, a crotch opening may be formed by straps 43 which also serve tohold the lower end of the garment down securely. An elastic pantyelement 44 is provided for the purposes already described in the otherembodiments. The girdle 42 is further provided with another form ofmovable stay unit 45 at its front, also shown and described in theabove-mentioned patent and this unit flattens the abdomen, allows easeof movement and bending at the waist, and upholds the top edge of thegarment at the center. The mode of operation of the unit 45 is fullycovered in said patent.

FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment wherein a corselette 46 is formedwith a crotch opening 47 according to the invention. A brief pantyelement 48 is again provided to cover the opening 47 and add tension andcontrol at the hips and crotch region in the composite garment. Thegarment is again equipped with the aforementioned movable stay unit 45to hold up the front of the garment which, in the case of a corselette,lacks shoulder straps. In this instance, the stay unit 45 is a mostimportant element and this is fully disclosed in the above-mentionedHerbener patent.

It may now be seen that the invention is highly versatile and may beapplied readily to a variety of underwear items and foundation garmentsfor women. The crotch opening feature and associated panty element,either in the attached or unattached form, supplements the operation ofthe movable stay units covered in the above-mentioned patent. The twofeatures acting together will result in the ideal undergarment havingStay Up Top characteristics. The invention is ideally suited for thepopular lightweight stretch garments including body stockings and pantyhose but may also be incorporated advantageously in girdles, corselettesand like garments formed of lightweight, medium weight, or heavierstretch material, the latter type material being for large women. in allcases, the general mode of operation of the crotch opening will be thesame, namely, that the opening will be small in a standing position andwill expand when a sitting position is assumed. In all cases, there is aunique coaction between the two garment components, namely, body garmentand covering panty element, in that the latter serves not only to coverthe crotch opening but to restore compression in the garment lost by theformation of the opening. Also, the panty element completely eliminatesthe very objectionable problem concerning garment removal when no crotchopening is provided as with conventional panty hose, body stockings andpanty girdles.

While the invention has been described to some extent and illustrated interms of undergarments, it should be clearly understood that theinvention concepts are equally applicable to bathing suits as well asother body garments and the description and drawings are not to beconstrued in a limiting sense. Also, various forms of garments embodyingthe invention may be adorned with lace, embroidery or other decorativematerial to meet the desires of the public.

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shownand described are to be taken as preferred examples of the same, andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scopeof the subjoined claims.

l claim:

1. A composite garment comprising in combination an elastic body portionadapted to cover at least the hip region of the wearer, said garmentbodyportion having leg openings and having a crotch section between the legopenings, said crotch section having a front-to-back elongatedstrectchable convenience opening which expands when the wearer is seatedand tends to close when the wearer is standing, and a covering pantycomponent of elastic material worn on the exterior of the garment bodyportion in covering relation thereto, said panty component having acrotch section which is closed and unapertured so as to completely coversaid convenience opening, said panty component because of its elasticitycompensating for loss of body compression in the crotch region caused bythe provision of the convenience opening and restoring to this regionthe required normal degree of compression when the panty component is inthe normal covering relationship to said body portion.

2. The structure of claim ll, wherein said garment body portion and saidpanty component are both formed of multi-direction stretch fabric havingthe ability to conform snugly to the body contours of the wearer.

3. The structure of claim 1, wherein said body portion comprises a sheerbody stocking garment and said panty component comprises a Bikini-typepanty.

1. A composite garment comprising in combination an elastic body portionadapted to cover at least the hip region of the wearer, said garmentbody portion having leg openings and having a crotch section between theleg openings, said crotch section having a front-to-back elongatedstrectchable convenience opening which expands when the wearer is seatedand tends to close when the wearer is standing, and a covering pantycomponent of elastic material worn on the exterior of the garment bodyportion in covering relation thereto, said panty component having acrotch section which is closed and unapertured so as to completely coversaid convenience opening, said panty component because of its elasticitycompensating for loss of body compression in the crotch region caused bythe provision of the convenience opening and restoring to this regionthe required normal degree of compression when the panty component is inthe normal covering relationship to said body portion.
 2. The structureof claim 1, wherein said garment body portion and said panty componentare both formed of multi-direction stretch fabric having the ability toconform snugly to the body contours of the wearer.
 3. The structure ofclaim 1, wherein said body portion comprises a sheer body stockinggarment and said panty component comprises a Bikini-type panty.